Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
18 July 2024 | 16:00 CAT
3 min read

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to leverage the Government of National Unity to effectively tackle South Africa’s challenges. Ahead of Ramaphosa’s address at the Opening of Parliament, Winde emphasised the need to prioritise economic growth and job creation, particularly in the Western Cape.

He called for decisive action on Operation Vulindlela, increased disaster management capabilities, and fair budget allocations for critical services. Winde underscored the importance of building resilience to climate crises and supporting policies that empower Western Cape residents.

In an interview with Radio Islam, Tessa Doom, Director of the Rivonia Circle suggests we need to reimagine what opposition politics looks like. Both the MK party and EFF have made an interesting point: The DA, as Ministers in the Cabinet of the President, don’t make for good opposition in terms of the role of opposition. So, the voice of the official opposition in the argument put forward by the EFF, are the parties outside of the GNU, with the greatest majority after the DA, which becomes the MK and to some extent the EFF,” she said.

She believes the DA and other parties within the cabinet is going to find themselves in a predicament this evening.  “They will have to be critical of a government that they are part of where they don’t agree and we will see if they are able to do that,” she added.

Dooms emphasised that the first priority should be establishing a cohesive and clear common agenda. She stressed that this administration is not solely about the ANC anymore, presenting a real opportunity for the President to demonstrate genuine accountability.

Dooms believes that Ramaphosa should outline a precise, time-bound agenda addressing critical issues such as the economy, industrialization, job creation, service delivery, National Health Insurance (NHI), and other pressing concerns, rather than resorting to vague platitudes.

“Harkening to history or nation-building tropes all about sentiment, is not what the country needs, we need action right now,” said Dooms.

Given the parallels between the 1994 elections and the 2024 elections, and now with the institution of the Government of National Unity (GNU) similar to the 1994 government, Dooms believes Ramaphosa will draw on that legacy.

“We need to recognise today is a very different time. One of the critics of the Nelson Mandela presidency was that we got so caught up in the mythology of the rainbow nation that we forgot we didn’t get down to make sure we delivered on it, and this should be the way we approach this, this must be a workmanlike speech that looks at practical steps to turn around the country,” she said.

Dooms emphasised that there is a serious crisis and a failure to deliver on democracy 30 years later, which needs to be brought to the forefront.

“We cannot be told sweet words about how miraculous our democracy is, this is a sign that the population is deeply unhappy, and dissatisfied and needs decisive leadership,” she said.

Tonight will serve as a litmus test for the President’s decisiveness, according to Dooms. She believes that Ramaphosa stumbled in his first test by creating one of the largest cabinets, suggesting he made too many compromises early on. “Now is the time to lay down the gauntlet for a cabinet that needs to get work,” she said.

Dooms sees tonight’s Opening of Parliament Address as a crucial opportunity to gauge the President’s ability to act decisively.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Habib Bobat and Tessa Dooms, Director of the Rivonia Circle, here.